Calvert, Oklahoma
by lauraforthewinoswald
Summary: The story of Rip's two year time drift into the old west and his little misadventures with Jonah Hex. (Warning for mentions of domestic abuse)
1. Drastically Off Course

Rip winched in pain and opened his eyes as he woke up on the floor of the Waverider's main console room. "Gideon, where are we?"

"It seems we've crash landed some miles outside Calvert, Oklahoma, United States, 1866." Gideon replied.

"What's the damage?" Rip asked. Gideon showed him a diagram of extensive work that would take him weeks to fully repair. "Looks like we'll be camping out in the old American West for a while. Show me all the information you have on the time period, please, Gideon." Flashes of news articles detailing The Civil Rights Act of 1866, The Indian Removal Act and other key moments in the history of the surrounding area came up in the console.

This was only Rip's third mission after being granted the rank of Captain. He was nearly expelled from the Time Masters a year before, following an illicit affair with a Lieutenant Miranda Coburn. Unbeknownst to the Time Masters; Rip and Miranda were still meeting in secret. Now to add another reason for expulsion; he'd failed to return home without blowing drastically offcourse.

He stepped outside to get a lay of the land. He was in the woods with no sign of civilization nearby. He didn't mind it really; he usually prefered to be alone. The only person he really enjoyed spending any time with was Miranda. And even she got on his last nerve sometimes. He walked to a lovely stream not far from where he'd cloaked the Waverider. The sereneness of the location quickly took a turn as he heard the click of a trigger behind his head. Rip rolled his eyes and sigh as he turned around with his hand where they could be seen. A rugged looking man in a faded confederate army jacket and a nasty scar on the side of his face had a rifle pointed straight at Rip's forehead.

"Who the hell are you?" The man asked.

"No one of any importance." Rip replied. "So if you don't mind putting that gun down and..."

"If you ain't important to anyone; what's keeping me from just shooting you now?" The stranger asked.

"Excellent point, Mr... Sorry I didn't catch your name." Rip seemed amazingly nonchalant for a man staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Hex" The man replied.

"Well, Mr. Hex, as you pointed out, I'm actually someone of incredible importance and there would be serious repercussions for you if you tried to kill me so if you don't mind I'll just..." Rip gets cut off again.

"You ain't from around here are you?" Hex scoffed.

Rip smiled. "Is it that obvious?"

Hex chuckled at Rip's ability to charismatically talk his way out of a bullet to the head. "What brings you so far away from queen and country, Mr...?"

"Hunter." Rip replied. "That's Captain Hunter, by the way. And I came for the scenic view."

Jonah Hex put down his weapon and shook his head. "You're twenty miles from the nearest town with absolutely no provisions besides the clothes on your back."

Rip sighed. "Yes, truth is, I'm stranded."

"I got a camp you could rest in not far from here. But it ain't much." Hex replied.

"It'll suffice for the time being." Rip looked up at the darkening sky. "Like you said, the nearest town is a ways out and it's nearly sundown." Rip could have spent the night in the Waverider but he figured it would look suspicious if he declined the man's offer. They ate their mutton and beans in relatively comfortable silence around the fire.

"This is all I've got." Jonah brought out a blanket and a satchel intended for Rip to use as a pillow. "You don't really look like you're used to roughin' it."

"I've actually had worse if you can believe it." Rip half smiled. "Thank you for the hospitality, Mr. Hex."

Jonah promised to take him into town in the morning. But they were woken up earlier than expected by three bandits trying to steal their provisions. It escalated into a wild fist fight. Until one of the bandits pulled a gun out on Rip. Rip spun around quickly and shot two of the three bandits in a flash. Jonah took out the third and gave Rip a surprised look.

"The hell is that?" Jonah pointed at Rip's gun.

"Ion Blaster." Rip shrugged and put the gun back in his holster.

"A what?" Jonah reached for Rip's gun.

"No, don't ... touch it." Rip sighed as Jonah Hex took hold of Rip's gun and shot it off at a nearby tree.

"How does it work?" Jonah examined it.

"I'd tell you but you wouldn't understand." Rip replied.

"Cuz you think I'm stupid, right?" Jonah scoffed as he threw Rip his gun back.

"I didn't mean to sound like I was belittling your intelligence." Rip apologized. "I guess I might as well explain from the beginning. I'm from London as you've easily noticed but I'm also from..."

"The future?" Jonah chuckled when he saw Rip's surprised expression. "See, I knew you thought I was stupid. You're just too polite to admit it."

"Not stupid, just primitive." Rip replied.

"Ok so maybe not that polite after all." Jonah laughed. He pointed to one of the horses the bandits had left behind. "They got horse riding in the future, Mr. Hunter."

"Yes but not... I've never.." Rip approached the beast with slight trepidation. "I'm sure I'll get the hang of it."

"You'd better cuz I ain't too keen on carrying you on my lap all the way back to Calvert." Jonah mounted his horse and chuckled as Rip clumsily climbed onto his new horse. The ride would take a few hours. After riding the first hour in silence, Jonah spoke. "Seems you've learned quickly enough."

"I think she likes me." Rip petted the horse. It neighed happily.

"I'll be honest, Mr. Hunter." Jonah replied. "I underestimated you. You really held your own back there. I wasn't expecting so much fight out of such a pretty boy."

"You think I'm pretty?" Rip gave him a mischievous smile. "And they say chivalry is dead." Rip paused for a moment. "Or is that more of a late 20th century phrase?"

Hex rolled his eyes. "This is why I gotta stop picking up strays."


	2. A Nearby Saloon

Jonah took Rip to an inn run by a Ms. Bella Walsh. She was an older woman but there was still a very alluring elegance about her. The inn seemed normal enough until Rip walked upstairs to his room and saw women walking about the hall dressed in a fashion that seemed slightly scandalous for the Victorian age. Being a 22nd century man, Rip wasn't too fazed at first. This was much to the chagrin of the women he walked past. The realization that his new friend had managed to get him a room in a house of ill repute didn't sink in until he shut the bedroom door behind him. He chuckled at his odd circumstance and plopped onto the bed for some much needed rest.

Jonah was waiting for Rip outside the inn the next morning. "Sleep well?" Hex asked as he took a drag of his cigarette.

Rip rolled his eyes. "Was a brothel really the only place in town with a vacancy?"

"Walsh runs a highly respectable establishment. Some places... they ain't as kind to the girls as Walsh is." Hex replied.

Rip nodded understandingly. Captain Hunter was quite good at reading people and he could see it in Hex's eyes. There was a deep and personal backstory behind those words. Hex took Rip to a nearby saloon and after a few drinks; Rip managed to ask him about the scars covering his face. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Rip added for fear it was an unhappy memory he'd rather not discuss.

"An Apache gave me this when I was 16. And all because we were fighin' over a girl." Hex scoffed.

"Let me guess, you fell for an Apache girl and the rest of the tribe wasn't too happy about it." Rip surmised correctly.

"The Apache took me in when I was just a kid. And we were like brothers, the back stabber that did this to me." Hex pointed to his mangled face. "The girl chose him over me in the end. I guess it's true what they say; everyone should stick to their own kind."

"I'd have to disagree on that." Rip replied. "But I understand what it's like to love someone when you're not allowed to."

"You got a girl in that future of yours?" Hex flashed him a jagged grin.

Rip nodded his head and smiled. "It wasn't an issue of races so much as an issue of station that kept us apart."

Jonah took a swig from his bottle of whisky. "Station? She a high class dame?"

"Of the highest calibre." Rip looked into his glass of bourbon with a melancholy glint in his eye. "She gave up her title for my sake and now look at me. What sort of captain am I? I'm stranded, my ship is nearly irreparable after a crash landing in Middle of Nowhere USA, and now I'm sleeping in a whore house."

Hex laughed so heartily that Rip couldn't help but chuckle along at his misfortune. Jonah put a strong but friendly hand on Rip's shoulder. "I can't say that I understand everything about being a time captain or whatever you are; but you seem like one of the good ones." Jonah got up from his bar stool as something outside the window caught his eye. "Excuse me, looks like I got some business to attend to." Jonah's heavy boots stomped off and Rip followed.

They happened upon the man Hex had seen from the window. He held a woman by the arm; her face was beat up. She cowered as the man raised his hand towards her. Jonah grabbed the man and pushed him up against the wall outside the saloon. Rip ran to the woman and took her hand. "Are you alright?" He almost feared touching her in her fragile state. She shook her head yes slowly.

Hex punched the woman's attacker so hard that he fell to the ground with a single blow. "You used up your last warning." Jonah took out his gun and shot the man point blank in the face. Rip had shot men down before but never in such a brutal fashion. He looked stunned at Hex's blood splattered shirt. They walked away as people began to crowd around the body. Some came to Hex to congratulate him on a job well done.

They took the young woman to the local apothecary for medical attention and began to walk back to Walsh's inn. "You did the right thing by intervening; but did you have to resort to cold blooded murder?" Rip asked.

"I'd already warned him once before. He got what was coming to him." Jonah scoffed. "It's called justice."

Rip simply nodded. That was the way things were. It wasn't labeled the wild west for nothing. Rip was filled in on the myth and legend of bounty hunter, Jonah Hex from the stories he heard from Walsh's girls. He was known for tracking criminals and executing the wicked without mercy. To some he was a hero but to others he was a dangerous vigilante. But the law was malleable in the old west. Sometimes people were left to fend for themselves and the weak needed a defender they could get behind.

Rip traveled back and forth from Calvert to the Waverider making odd repairs here and there. But he slowly found himself spending more and more time helping Jonah Hex in his missions. It wasn't unlike his work with the Time Masters and he needed something worthwhile to do while he waited to go home. What was meant to be a few weeks quickly turned into a few months. But for some reason, Rip didn't seem to be in a rush. He'd already developed a reputation as Hex's newest partner in crime; or crime fighting. He'd traded in his futuristic blaster for a period accurate weapon and almost gave Jonah Hex a run for his money in the sharp shooting department. Rip was slowly going native.


	3. I Quite Like This Jacket

Rip found himself slightly more respectable accommodations in a small flat above the apothecary. Rip had given into the temptation of supplying the poor country doctor with medicine from the future to better help his patients. During one of his visits to the Waverider for medicine; Gideon gave him a warning. His actions in Calvert were altering the timeline. Rip asked to see what had changed. In the world where Rip never stayed in Calvert and allied himself with Jonah Hex; the town was destroyed by a gang of pillagers known as the Turnbull Gang. But word had spread about Hex and Hunter. Their partnership was the thing keeping the bad guys at bay.

"I worked on the converters today." Rip replied at an attempt to change the subject with Gideon. "I calculate that after a few more adjustments, we'll be ready to fly back home."

"The last time you made a repair was 3 months ago." Gideon reminded him. "I fear you will be caught in a time drift and unable to return."

"I just need to figure out a way to keep Calvert safe in my absence." Rip bargained with Gideon. "There must be a version of the timeline where Calvert survives without me. They've got Jonah."

"My records do not indicate any other possible outcome, Captain." Gideon explained.

"No, there has to be something I can do." Rip stormed out of the Waverider determined to prove Gideon wrong but he didn't know how. Rip's dampened spirits were lifted back in town as watched a little girl recover from consumption thanks to his medicine. Her name was Lydia and she was a sweet little thing about 5 years old. Her and Rip got on rather well. Being six feet tall; Rip had to sit on the floor to be at eye level with her while he listened intently at Lydia's rules for her dolly's extravagant tea party. A knock at the door interrupted their talk.

"Someone here to see you, Mr. Hunter." Lydia's mother announced as Hex entered the room. Rip stood with a dolly in his hand. Jonah smiled at the sight. But poor Lydia became frightened at the sight of Hex and she hid behind Rip's leg.

"It's alright, Lydia. This is my friend, Jonah." Rip explained.

"Sorry to interupt but it's nearly sundown and I'd like to get home before the blizzard hits." Jonah finished his sentence and quickly walked out the door.

"Looks like I've got to go." Rip handed Lydia her dolly back.

Lydia tugged at Rip's shirt sleeve forcing him to lean in and listen as she whispered, "Why is his face broken?"

"That's impolite, Lydia." Lydia's mother scolded her as she overheard.

Rip said it was no trouble and Lydia meant no harm by the question. She was just a child; after all. Rip met Jonah outside and began walking back to his flat. Jonah seemed more at home outdoors than he did inside but with the winter winds coming in as strong as they were; Jonah had been spending most of his nights on the couch at Rip's place.

They quickly got a fire going and Rip put the kettle on. He shivered and put his hands over the fire. Jonah noticed the holes in Rip's jacket. "The hell you wearing that for?" Jonah scoffed. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a long brown coat. "Put this on." He tossed the coat at Rip; who caught it mostly with his face.

Rip put the coat on and looked in the mirror on the opposite end of the flat. He turned up the collar and did a little half spin. "I quite like this jacket."

"Keep it." Jonah replied. "It suits you." He smiled but quickly changed his tune as if realizing he'd been acting far too sweet for his image. "It's too small on me anyway and you're so scrawny that I figured it would look better on you."

Rip chuckled, noticing Jonah's attempt to hide a genuine compliment with a jab. "So you think I look good?" Rip asked. "Am I still as pretty as the day you met me?" He added with a smirk.

"You're never going to let that one go, are ya?" Jonah rolled his eyes. The kettle whistled and Rip went to pour the tea. Rip handed Jonah his drink. "This tea could use a little more sugar." Hex noted as he took a sip. "And bourbon."

"Cupboard on the left." Rip shook his head as he watched Jonah pour a healthy helping of bourbon into his drink.

Jonah sat down on the edge of Rip's bed and Rip sat down beside him. They finished their spiked tea in silence. Hex stood to rinse out the mugs when they'd finished He spoke to Rip with his back turned. "So.. um... Lydia's mother was saying you seem really good with kids." He turned back around face Rip. "You ever think you might want to have kids one day?"

"I never knew my parents. So what do I know about being a father?" Rip shrugged. "What about you; did have a family before the Apache took you in?"

Hex sat down beside Rip on the edge of his bed again and took a deep breath. "I did have a family and I wish I'd never known them." Hex had never opened up to anyone before but he knew his vulnerabilities would be safe in Rip's hands. "My father, Woodson Hex was an alcoholic, wife beating ,good for nothing, sorry excuse of a man. When my momma saw her chance to run away; she never looked back. But she left me behind with him. He'd come home drunk and start wailing on me and I didn't know what I'd done to deserve it."

Rip took Jonah's hands in his. "I'm so sorry, Jonah."

"You know, I've gotten used to people staring at me like I'm some kind of monster." Jonah replied. "But something about today really got to me. I saw the way Lydia hid at the sight of me; it's the way I used to hide from him..."

"Don't you ever think that." Rip put a gentle hand over Hex's scared face. "Do not even for one second entertain the notion that you have anything in common with the likes of your father. He was the monster; not you."

Jonah looked at Rip and saw the most caring eyes that had ever stared back at him. Hex couldn't remember the last time anyone dared to caress his face. He didn't stop Rip when he leaned in to kiss him. He didn't want him to stop.


	4. Calvert's Fate Was Sealed

The kiss seemed to stop time until Jonah finally came to his senses and stood up suddenly. "I... I have to go." He briskly headed for the door.

"There's a blizzard outside." Rip scoffed. "And you can't just walk out on me after kissing me like that."

"You started it." Jonah replied.

"You bloody well finished it." Rip chuckled.

"It ain't right." Jonah stood with his hand still on the doorknob. "We can't.."

"It's completely normal, Jonah." Rip replied.

"Maybe where you're from it's normal; in another 300 years." Jonah paced nervously as he spoke. "But here and now it's not normal. Don't you ever try to kiss me again." Jonah sat down on the armchair next to the fireplace.

"Suit yourself, Mr. Hex." Rip stood up and took off Jonah's coat. He laid it over the couch Jonah slept on. Rip went to bed while Hex was left awake to tend to the fire and contemplate.

Rip didn't mention the kiss; nor did he attempt anything of the sort for weeks thereafter. He understood the pressure Jonah felt. It was 1867; slavery had only been outlawed less than five years ago. A man couldn't even kiss another woman if she wasn't the right type of woman. Rip and Jonah could very well be hanged if the wrong person found out about their little kiss.

As soon as the snow melted; the Turnbull gang made their first appearance in Calvert. They were cautious enough to not make too much of a ruckus but they had already been kicked out of the saloon for inappropriate behavior. And they had started a drunken brawl that left the poor barkeep with half his glasses and bottles in splinters on the ground.

Rip answered a frantic knock at his door. It was one of the barmaids from the saloon on the other side of the door. Her name was Rosa Maria. "Capitan, I have news!"

Rip met Rosa after a patron at the bar referred to her as a dirty Mexican Indian mutt in Rip's presence and Rip intervened. Said patron soon found himself at the wrong end of Rip's gun barrel when he tried getting fresh with Rosa.

Captain Hunter invited Rosa in. She took a deep breath and explained her big news, "The Turnbull Gang; they was asking about you and Hex."

"I haven't seen Hex in a few days." Rip replied, pouring a shot of bourbon into a dingy looking old glass.

"Everything alright with you two?" Rosa asked.

"Just a minor domestic dispute." Rip sipped his drink. "He'll be back. He just needs to sulk for a while. Bet he's out in the woods somewhere shooting small woodland creatures at an attempt to quell his repressed frustrations."

Rosa smiled and crossed her arms. "Well, you better snap him out of it fast because they out looking for him right now."

"I'll certainly try, Rosa." Rip smiled. Rosa said a quick goodbye and good luck before exiting. Captain Hunter put on his coat and hat and grabbed his revolver. He had a good hunch of where Jonah was hiding out. He found Hex about three miles outside of town roasting a squirrel over a fire. Rip cleared his throat as he approached. "Jonah, they're here." Hex looked up but quickly turned around to ignore him. "Hex, look at me when I'm talking to you This is serious." Rip sounded like a stern father about to give a lecture. "These men have a reputation for leaving chaos in their wake and they're asking all over town for us."

"You know, Jeb Turnbull and I were partners once." Hex finally replied. "We fought on the battlefield side by side. For a while I thought he'd died in Fort Charlotte." Jonah looked up at Rip. "What does the future say about the war?"

"That you fought for the wrong side." Rip replied flatly.

Hex scoffed. "We all make mistakes."

"So, this ex soldier turned outlaw; you think he remembers you as well as you remember him?" Rip asked. "Maybe we can reach a compromise without bloodshed."

"Oh, he'll remember me alright. But he ain't 'bout to compromise with the likes of me." Hex stood and walked towards Hunter. "See, I'm a traitor, a double crosser. I abandoned my post because I couldn't fight for something I didn't believe in anymore."

"So, his knowing you is actually worse instead of better." Rip replied. "He might in fact have a personal vendetta against you."

Hex picked up his roasted squirrel and took a big bite. " 'Bout right. Jeb's been wantin' me dead for a long time."

"Well that's just great." Rip rolled his eyes and sighed. "You know I want to help you. And I'll do all I can. You and the people in this town; you're all important to me. But my ship's almost done. I've been here almost two years at this point."

"You have to leave; I get it." Jonah replied. "Jeb and his gang are my battle, not yours. You don't need to fight it for me."

"I want to help. You must understand that." Rip felt his heart grow heavy. "But I have to go home." He knew he had to go back or damage the timeline and lose his title as Time Master.

What's worse is he'd left Miranda behind. Granted, upon his return it would look as though he'd only been gone a few weeks. But memories of her were going fuzzy and Rip feared forgetting her. His memories of her usually returned when he walked past the town's little white chapel. He fantasized about marrying Miranda in that humble little church. They could find some land and settle down and finally love each other freely. But Calvert's fate was sealed.

Jonah and Rip rode back into town and headed to Rip's place. He gave Jonah all the intel he could give on the Turnbull gang in hopes that he would be able to save the town on his own. Then he rode back to the Waverider and made the final repairs he'd been avoiding.

"Good to see you again, Captain." Gideon greeted him.

"Good evening, Gideon." Rip sat down and strapped himself in; looking cold and emotionless. "Set a course for London 2161."


End file.
